


Bang Bang, He Shot Me Down

by benjaminrussell



Category: Shadow of the Templar - M. Chandler
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spoilers for With a Bullet, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28336788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: It's not Simon who Farraday finds in the warehouse, but Johnny and Nate.
Relationships: Johnny Pilgrim/Nate Waxman
Kudos: 1





	Bang Bang, He Shot Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> Simon's line before they go to rescue Jeremy got me thinking, so Happy Holidays, have some Johnny whump! XD

_“Texas is, uh, well, okay, Texas is fine.”_

It was if Simon’s words jinxed it.

Rescuing Jeremy started off relatively okay – the team reached and breached the warehouse, narrowly avoided the falling forklift truck (the only victim being Nate’s laptop), and then headed off to accomplish their separate tasks. For Nate and Johnny, that ended up being finding and guarding the side door of the warehouse. Nate was terrified, but that was nothing new and not surprising, and at least he was with Johnny instead of being left on his own this time. Johnny’s pep talk made him feel better, despite – or maybe because of? - Johnny promising to kill Farraday if he got the chance. Honestly, Nate wasn’t really sure how he felt about that bit other than as he’d admitted, a little scared of Johnny. Regardless of his feelings about Johnny’s declaration, he did feel a little better afterwards.

It only lasted for a couple of seconds though.

“Urk.” Johnny made a choked sound, spasmed, and then collapsed, narrowly avoiding hitting the floor face first.

“Texas!” Nate brought his crowbar up, free hand darting for his gun ( _why had he put it away?!_ ) just as Farraday stepped out of the shadows, a still sparking taser in one hand and a .22 pistol in the other. The pistol, almost certainly the one he’d shot Simon with, was pointed at Nate’s head, but that was only really a secondary concern right now. Mostly Nate was caught on Johnny unmoving on the floor in front of him, and Farraday’s psychotic expression. He did freeze in place though, not wanting to give Farraday any more reason to shoot him.

“Huh-how romantic.”

_Had he been hiding in the shadows the entire time?_ Nate could feel himself shaking, and the only thing stopping him from being sent right back to the last time he’d been face to face with Farraday, was his worry for Johnny.

“Farraday.” Nate’s voice was barely more than a breath.

“Pity he cuh-can’t protect anyone right now.” Farraday grinned, and the expression made Nate even more terrified if that was possible. Mike was right – the man was definitely more deranged than when they’d gone after him the first time. “Drop the crowbar.”

Nate stretched his hand out just far enough that he wouldn’t drop the crowbar on his foot, and then let go, cringing at the sound of metal hitting concrete even if noise was more in his favour than Farraday’s.

“Good. Now kick it away.” Farraday’s gun was still trained on Nate’s head despite the occasional twitch, so Nate did as instructed, nudging the crowbar further away with his toe.

His mind felt like it was full of static, fear making it hard to think other than to pray that the rest of the team would somehow notice what was happening and come to his rescue.

“And your guh-gun.”

Nate fumbled his first attempt but pulled his gun out of his belt holster on the second try and reluctantly dropped that on the floor as well. He kicked it after his crowbar before holding his hands up in front of him, hoping that Farraday would just leave them alone and run for it. Nate was pretty sure that the man didn’t consider him a threat after all.

“Here we are again.” Farraday giggled and then his head twitched, but his gun stayed steady. “I need to muh-make your team go away and you’re right here.”

Nate _knew_ that it wasn’t the same situation as last time. He wasn’t helpless in the dark and he still had his feet under him, but that knowledge didn’t make him feel any better.

“If I had time, I’d cut your fruh-friend open and make you muh-match.”

It was all Nate could do to stop himself gagging at the thought of Johnny being put through that torture too, and he just knew he’d have nightmares about it for weeks.

“Oh wuh-well. This’ll have to do.”

Before Nate even had a chance to guess what Farraday was about to do, the man jerked his gun down and fired, putting a bullet in Johnny’s thigh. A dark patch immediately appeared on Johnny’s jeans, and Nate caught a glimpse of blood pooling on the floor beneath his friend, before, in an uncharacteristic moment of bravery, he darted for his own gun and snatched it up. Pulling the muzzle up to aim at Farraday, he had the briefest moment to process the other man beginning to turn his gun back on Nate, and then his finger squeezed the trigger. The gun jerked back but Nate’s stance had been good, and the bullet went right through Farraday’s forehead.

In a somewhat detached way, Nate watched as Farraday keeled over backwards and hit the floor with a thud, completely still for the first time that Nate had seen. Only then did he process the running footsteps deeper in the warehouse, presumably the others having heard the gunshots and converging on the source. Nate re-holstered his gun and dropped to his knees, scrabbling to pull off his jacket at the same time and almost overbalancing. Balling it up, he pressed it against Johnny’s leg and used the weight of his body to put pressure on, before only then reaching for his headset with one hand.

“Farraday is dead and Texas is down.” He thought his voice was remarkably steady, but he also figured that looking after Johnny was the only thing stopping him from going fully into shock. He was sure he was going to have some sort of breakdown later.

“Specs, where are you?” Simon’s voice came over the headset, sounding a little out of breath although Nate barely noticed.

“Riverside door.” Nate’s training and well, maybe a small amount of shock kept his reply brief, focused on pressing down on Johnny’s wound as he was.

A jolt of panic shot through him as the thought occurred to him that maybe the zap from the taser had been deadly but reaching out with one hand allowed him to grasp Johnny’s wrist and feel a steady pulse. Johnny definitely needed urgent medical attention, but he was alive.

Sandy rounded the nearby corner at a run, Mike hot on her heels, and they both skidded to a halt before Farraday’s dead body.

“Call an ambulance,” Sandy snapped at Mike as soon as she took in the scene, all business and professional mask firmly in place even though Nate knew she’d be just as worried about Johnny as he was.

Mike didn’t bother replying, already pulling out his phone and dialling 911, eyes darting between Farraday and Johnny’s prone bodies. Sandy kicked Farraday’s gun and taser away before she picked her way over to Nate, making sure to avoid stepping in the blood splatter around Farraday, before crouching down next to Johnny. He gaze was steady on Nate even as she pressed two fingers to Johnny’s neck. Thankfully, she didn’t ask if Nate was okay, probably realising it wasn’t the time for that.

“How’s he hurt?” She asked simply, seemingly prioritising their teammate’s health over finding out precisely what had happened.

_It wasn’t like Farraday was going anywhere_. Nate had to clamp down on a hysterical laugh that threatened to bubble up at the thought.

“Farraday tased him and then shot him in the leg.” The memory of the man’s threat to carve up Johnny swam to the front of Nate’s mind, making him feel again like he might throw up.

“He was making sure we’d have to leave,” He added weakly, knowing Sandra wouldn’t need him to elaborate.

“Ambulance is on its way,” Mike reported, just as Simon rounded the same corner Sandy and Mike had come from.

It took a moment for Nate’s brain to pick Jeremy’s dark form out of the shadows behind Simon, and he almost started at the rough state the thief was in. He’d never seen Jeremy look anything less than polished, although given who it was who’d kidnapped him, Nate supposed he could have easily looked worse.

“What happened?” Simon came and stood next to Nate, pressing a grounding hand to his shoulder.

“Farraday snuck up on us, tased Texas before we even knew he was there. Made me drop my crowbar and gun, and then-” Nate hesitated. Simon squeezed his shoulder, giving him the courage to spit it out, his words running together in his rush to get the worst bit over and done with. “He said that if he had time, he’d cut Texas, so we matched.”

Mike let out a string of curses, looking like he was a hair’s width away from whaling on Farraday again even though the man was already dead. Sandy looked deathly calm, but her eyes were tight in the way that meant she was clamping down on her anger to prevent herself from lashing out. Jeremy on the other hand was doing that thing he sometimes did, being very still in a way that made it extremely easy to forget he was there.

Simon’s grip on Nate’s shoulder tightened almost painfully, but all he said was, “And then what?”

“Then he shot Texas in the leg and I guess was about to flee, but I dove for my gun and shot him. Oh god. I shot him.” Nate’s hands clenched where they were balled in his jacket, still pressing down as hard as he could.

“I killed someone,” He added faintly. Oh no, he couldn’t break down yet, not when he was possibly the only thing stopping Johnny from bleeding out.

“Spring, take over from Specs there.” Simon pulled Nate backwards once Sandy had her hands in place to keep the pressure on, not letting him protest. “Honda, go wait outside for the paramedics. Shadow-”

Whatever he was about to tell Jeremy to do was cut off by the warehouse lights suddenly all blinking on, illuminating the entire room and casting all the blood spatter into sharp contrast suddenly.

"Thanks, whoever that was."

Nate was too focused on the sudden realisation that his hands were covered in Johnny’s blood to really pay attention to Simon speaking into his headset, but he was just aware enough to recognise Dave’s voice crackling out of his own headset in reply.

"Uh, you're welcome."

Simon and Dave had a brief conversation, ending with Simon telling Dave to go back and wait for them at the van, and then Simon was pushing Nate to sit on one of the smaller crates. Maybe he’d noticed that Nate was just blankly staring at his bloody hands.

Regardless, his voice was uncharacteristically gentle as he instructed Nate to look at him. It took a moment, but Nate was able to force himself to look up at Simon, only then realising that Mike had left without Nate noticing.

“There you are.” Simon kept the gentle tone although he did reach out and catch Nate’s chin with his hand to stop Nate’s gaze drifting downwards again. “You did what you had to do, and the paramedics will be here shortly. Texas is gonna be okay.”

“Specs, I want you to repeat after me. Can you do that?” Simon asked after a beat.

Nate thought about it, fighting the part of his brain that was stuck on a repeating litany of ‘oh god’. Eventually he nodded.

“Good. Now, say ‘I did what I had to do.’”

“I-” Nate’s voice cracked. He swallowed and tried again. “I did what I had to do.”

Simon gave him an encouraging if tight smile. “Texas is going to be okay.”

“Texas is going to be okay.” Nate couldn’t help looking at Johnny at that, but he realised that if he focused, he could just about see slight movement that meant Johnny was still breathing. He clung to it like a lifeline.

Simon made a gesture with his hand, and then a couple of moments later, Jeremy materialised by Nate’s side.

“Keep an eye on him. I need to call this in.” Jeremy nodded in response to Simon’s order but didn’t speak.

“Specs, you keep an eye on Archer too.” Nate also managed a nod, even if most of his attention was still on watching Johnny breathe.

“Templar, you need to know that Honda and I ran across Diana Fontaine while looking for Farraday,” Sandy said quietly, not letting up pressure on Johnny’s leg one bit. "She... there was an altercation and she's been restrained, but she needs proper arresting."

“Ha. I knew it. Bitch.” Simon and Sandy discussed Diana Fontaine briefly, and then Simon stepped away to call HQ and report in.

Shortly after that, although Nate couldn’t have said how much time had passed, Mike reappeared with three paramedics in tow. Two of them immediately beelined for Johnny, sparing only a brief glance for Farraday’s corpse, and set to work. Presumably, Mike had briefed them on the situation. Simon pointed the third paramedic towards Jeremy and Nate, murmuring something Nate didn’t catch, and then the woman set about inspecting and treating Jeremy’s wounds, shining a penlight in his eyes, and all the other usual things. As her colleagues were just starting to prepare to move Johnny onto a backboard, she turned to Nate and gave him a practised once over, mostly without his involvement. Wrapping him in a shock blanket, she turned back to Simon and gave him a quick rundown, mentioning words like concussion and shock. Nate was more focused on watching Johnny be lifted onto a stretcher, until he suddenly realised that the paramedics were about to take him away.

“Can I go with him?” He asked, all in one breath.

Simon and the paramedic shared a look, and then Simon waved her off and turned his attention back to the team. He was addressing Nate, but his words for were all of them. “Spring is going to take you and Archer back to base so you can all clean up. Actually, take the new guy as well so he can drive the van back here after. Honda is going to stay here with me until someone else arrives to take control of the scene. We’ll reconvene back at base, and then I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“But-” Nate barely even managed one word of protest before he was quelled by Simon’s expression.

“The paramedics will let the hospital know that we’re all okay, so they can pass on the message in case Texas wakes up before we can get there.”

Nate watched as the paramedics wheeled Johnny out of the building and out of sight, stomach clenching in worry, even if he knew objectively that Johnny was in better hands with the professionals than with Nate.

“Come on, let’s go,” Sandy said softly, although the effect was ruined by her hands also being bloody.

Jeremy touched Nate’s elbow, prompting him to stand up and follow Sandy out of the warehouse, trying to avert his gaze from where Farraday’s corpse was still lying. Sandy led the way back to the van, calling Dave over comms as they approached, who had the door swinging open just as they reached it.

“There’s some wet wipes in the trunk on the left. Get them please.” Sandy cut Dave off before he could ask anything.

He immediately went for the wet wipes, but then swallowed as he handed them over, concern seemingly overriding his fear of Sandy’s reaction. “Is Texas okay?”

Sandy pushed a wipe into Nate’s hands before pulling out one for herself.

At the same time, Jeremy clambered awkwardly into the van and fielded the question. “He’s unconscious but in good hands. The paramedics didn’t seem too worried.”

Nate sank into his usual spot and hunched in on himself as he started scrubbing at his hands. Sandy finished cleaning her own hands, tossing the packet of wipes onto the seat next to Nate, and then slid into the driver’s seat, setting off as soon as everyone was settled.

An unknown amount of time later, Nate was broken from the daze he’d unknowingly slipped into by Jeremy putting a hand on top of Nate’s. “They’re clean. Or at least as clean as you’re going to be able to get them with just a wipe.”

“Huh?” Nate blinked and looked down at their hands, realising belatedly that he’d been scrubbing at his hands the entire time. It still felt like they were covered in Johnny’s blood though. “Oh.”

He dropped the wipe onto the seat next to him to be disposed of later and shoved his hands under his thighs so he couldn’t see them. It helped a little.

“Oh, uh. How are you feeling?” He realised he’d never checked how Jeremy himself was and felt weirdly guilty.

“Bruised and concussed, but I’ll live.” Jeremy shot him a tired smile, before wincing as the van went over a pothole.

*

Eventually, although not soon enough for Nate’s liking, he and Simon arrived at the hospital and after a short wait to be seen, were directed to the floor Johnny was on. Nate trailed a step behind Simon all the way to the nurses’ station on that floor, hanging back as Simon asked for Johnny’s room and showed his ID. He dug his own ID out when prompted, and then seemingly happy, the nurse on duty consented to give them a brief summary.

“Mr Pilgrim woke up shortly after his injuries were seen to, and, uh.” The woman paused as if trying to think how to put it politely. “He tried to check himself out until someone was able to pass on the message that the rest of your team were okay.”

Nate hunched in on himself again, hating the thought of Johnny waking up and thinking that Farraday had got Nate. Because he could easily imagine where Johnny’s mind had gone, upon waking up and not seeing any of the team, his last memory being jumped from behind.

“He was sleeping last I checked, but I can let you in to see him. In fact, he’s just waiting for the doctor to come by and sign him off, so if you wait around you can take him away with you.” The nurse continued on, unaware of Nate’s stressing.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Simon gave the nurse a warm smile and followed her down the hallway to Johnny’s room, giving Nate a gentle nudge when he froze in the doorway.

The nurse left them to it, the door swung closed behind Nate, and then suddenly the quiet of the room was almost oppressive. Nate’s focus narrowed to the figure on the bed, and for a moment, despite the nurse’s words, he couldn’t help but think that Johnny had bled out. Then Johnny shifted slightly in his sleep, and Nate huffed out a sigh of relief. Simon shot him a quick look but didn’t say anything, instead just took up residence leaning against the empty spot of wall by the doorway. Feeling a little self-conscious, Nate sank into the chair by the bed, glad Mike wasn’t there to make jokes about watching Johnny sleep. Simon at least, would wait until Johnny woke up to make the joke. Or well, given that he kept looking at Nate like he was glass that might break at the barest touch, maybe he wouldn’t make it at all.

Maybe they’d arrived at just the right time, or maybe Johnny had sensed their presence even in his sleep, but it wasn’t long before he rolled over, swore as he presumably jostled his leg, and then noticed his visitors. He quickly forced himself up to a seated position, before giving Nate a once over, concern evident on his face.

“I’m okay,” Nate said in a small voice, that cracked on the last syllable. Johnny didn’t look convinced, so he quickly amended it to, “I’m not hurt.”

“Good to see you awake, Texas.” Simon drew Johnny’s attention as he took a few steps forward and perched on the end of the bed, steering well clear of Johnny’s injured leg.

“What happened?” Johnny glanced between Nate and Simon. “Everyone else okay?”

“Archer’s a bit banged up, but other than that, you’re the only one hurt.” Simon patted Johnny’s uninjured leg. “Sandy and Mike ran into Diana Fontaine-”

“Bitch,” Johnny supplied.

“So, we arrested her,” Simon continued. “And-”

“Farraday’s dead,” Nate blurted out, inadvertently completing Simon’s sentence.

Johnny could clearly tell there was more they weren’t telling him, because he looked between the two of them wordlessly, waiting for one of them to explain.

Nate’s gaze dipped to focus on Johnny’s shoulder, suddenly scared to see his reaction. “I shot him.”

“Good riddance.” Johnny’s voice was quiet but firm, reminding Nate that oh yeah, given Johnny’s speech in the warehouse, he certainly wouldn’t be upset that Farraday had been killed.

Nate forced himself to meet Johnny’s gaze again, barely noticing as Simon slipped off the bed and out of the room to give them some privacy. “I guess he snuck up on us while we were talking. He tased you, which, uh, turns out is how he got Jeremy too.”

His glasses were threatening to slide off, so Nate absently pushed them back up, trying not to think about the sight of Johnny collapsing again. “He made me drop my gun and crowbar, and said he needed us to leave again, so that’s when he shot you. All that tweaking of my stance you did paid off, because I lunged for my own gun and shot him.”

Johnny reached out and put a hand on Nate’s shoulder, his touch grounding Nate. Silence fell for a few moments, Johnny watching Nate carefully, until he asked lowly, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Nate’s gaze fell again, unable to look Johnny in the eye while he shared Farraday’s threat. “He said that if he’d had more time, he’d cut you up, so we matched.”

The grip on Nate’s shoulder tightened, and Johnny used it to pull Nate towards him. Not expecting it, Nate squawked in surprise, but he let Johnny move him, pulling him into a hug. It was an awkward angle, with Nate leaning over the side of the bed, but he sank into the unexpected comfort and buried his face in Johnny’s shoulder.

“We’re okay,” Johnny murmured, breath tickling Nate’s neck. “We’re okay.”


End file.
